BRASSWORLD News &
Report
June 2003
www.brassworld.org
AL Super Series
The chosen matchup for May was Toontown traveling to Greenville. Both teams had very fine
starts in April. These two teams brought different winning strategies to the park as Greenville
focuses on pitching and defense while Toontown’s attack revolves around the power exemplified by
Barry Bonds. Let’s see how it came out.
The first game saw Jamey Wright for the Rabbits up against Mark Buehrle for the Black Sox. On
paper the starters were a solid advantage for Greenville. Ah, they don’t play the games on paper do
they  Immediately in the first inning Barry Bonds made himself heard as he drilled a three-run
homer. In the third inning Herb Perry iced this one for Toontown when he smashed a two-run
homer. Up 5-0 Jamey Wright was able to cruise in his start. He finished what he started and
allowed only one run on four hits. With a final score of 10-1, Toontown had made a statement in
game one.
Game two saw veteran hurlers Frank Castillo (Toontown) and Rick Reed (Greenville) climb the
bump. In the first the Rabbits jumped up for two quick runs. Jerry Hairston’s triple drove in
leadoff hitter Kenny Lofton. Bonds followed with a groundball to short to get Hairston in. In the
bottom of the frame, the Black Sox got one back on Bobby Higginson’s sac fly. In the top of the
third the Rabbits went back to work. After Reed retired the first two hitters with ease he imploded.
Hairston stroked a solid single and Bonds drew a walk. First and second and two outs and up
strode Mags Ordonez. Magpipes lined a single to center to send Hairston plateward. Now up came
Ryan Klesko. Klesko got one in his “happy zone” and connected. He sent the ball soaring into the
rightfield bleachers for a three-run homer. Up 6-1 the Rabbits had all that they would need in this
one. Ryan Klesko finished off his big day by delivering a two-run homer in the ninth for a five rbi
day. With a final score of 10-2 Toontown had now scored 20 runs in two games.
The series finale saw Kevin Millwood take the ball for Toowntown and Brandon Duckworth doing
the same for the Black Sox. Duckworth started well as he was able to make it through the first
without allowing a run. Greenville got on the board in the first, thanks to two errors from
shortstop Alex Gonzalez. On the hill Duckworth was in a groove as he held the powerful Rabbits at
bay through five innings. In the top of the sixth the Rabbits remained down 1-0. Duckworth
seemed to be on his way through the sixth as he got past Bonds by holding him to a single. Mags
followed Bonds and popped out for the second out of the inning. In stepped Ryan Klesko. Klesko
got hold of an inside fastball and ripped it into the corner for a double that got Bonds over to third.
Now in some hot water with two outs Duckworth had to face Herb Perry. Perry worked the count
to his favor at 3-1. Duckworth tried a slider, but it hung and and Perry was all over it. He returned
the pitch and then some as he turned it into a souvenir for an awaiting fan. The Rabbits exited the
sixth now up 3-1. Millwood sent the Black Sox down quietly in the bottom of the frame and thus
allowed the hitters to get back out there quickly. Magglio Ordonez put this one to bed with a threerun, two out homer in the seventh. After a tight start to this one it ended up being another rout for
the Rabbits as they won 8-2. Magglio finished up with four ribbies and Dave Veres picked up his
second three inning save of the series.
This series was all Toontown obviously. 28 runs in three games. This series was instrumental in
powering the Rabbits to a BRASSWORLD best 22-7 May.
NL Super Series
The NL matchup is a Mays affair in May  BRASSWORLD-leading Maryland traveled to second
place Aspen for an early season showdown.
Maryland trotted out youngster Jason Marquis in the opener while Aspen countered with its great
ace, Pedro Martinez. Pedro opened up the game by retiring the first seven batters he faced. The
eighth, though, was Damian Miller and Damian connected for an unlikely homer to give the
Mounders an early 1-0 lead. Marquis himself cruised into the fourth without much trouble. After
getting McLemore and Olerud on consecutive groundouts to second to start the fourth all appeared
well for the young hurler. With two out up stepped Luis Gonzalez who promptly drove the ball into
the gap for a standup double. The next batter was Scott Rolen. Rolen turned around a Marquis
offering and delivered it into the stands for a 2-1 Aspen lead. Pedro said “Thank you very much”
and proceeded to mow down Mounder batters the rest of the way. For the game he allowed only
three hits. He struck out 14 hitters enroute to a 3-1 victory. A masterfully dominant outing was put
together by the best in BRASSWORLD.
In game two veterans climbed the hill. Hideo Nomo took the ball for the Mounders while his
counterpart was Jamie Moyer for the Rainmakers. Hideo got himself in a heap of first inning
trouble as he loaded the bases with one out. Rolen came up with the sacks full and he stroked a
solid single to right to plate two early runs. With runners now on the corners and one out Alex
Cora came up and sent a deep fly to right. It wasn’t deep enough, but it was enough to allow Luis
Gonzalez to trot home with the third run of the inning. Spotted three runs Moyer now assumed a
Pedro-like persona. No runner made it past first until Jeff Kent doubled in the sixth, but he was
left stranded. In the top of the eighth, Quinton McCracken led off as a pinch-hitter. He doubled,
doing his best to start a rally on Moyer. Danny Bautista grounded to second to move Q over to
third. Bernie Williams came up with a sac fly and the Mounders had finally touched Moyer for a
run. After a Rolen double play ended the bottom of the eighth the Mounders attempted a rally.
Mike Williams was called in to close this out for the Rainmakers. Todd Helton led off and he
singled. Tim Salmon followed and he ripped a screaming line drive home run to left to make the
score 4-3. Shellshocked, Rene went out and pulled his closer and brought in Buddy Groom. Corey
Koskie was his first batter and he lofted a routine fly out to centerfielder Charles Gipson, but
Gipson dropped the ball and Koskie was safe at second as the tying run. Moyer’s beautiful start
was now in jeopardy. Groom decided to take this one himself. He quickly sent down Damian
Miller on strikes. Next up Royce Clayton, but the best Royce could do was shoot a weak grounder
over to Olerud at first for the second out. With the tying run now only ninety feet away up stepped
McCracken. No big hit was forthcoming, however, as Groom got Q to pop out to Vina at second.
The finale in Aspen had Matt Clement scheduled for Maryland and Jarrod Washburn for the home
team. Danny Bautista got things going early as he led off the contest with a home run. Through
four complete the score remained a taught 1-0 affair. In the top of the fifth Todd Helton gave
Clement all the breathing room he would need when he sent a Washburn offering to go see the
outfield fans. Up 3-0 now, Clement cruised to an eventual 4-0 victory. Alan Embree worked out of
a mini jam created by Clement in the ninth by striking out the last two batters to preserve the
Mounders win.
Some excellent pitching in this three game set. Both teams appear set to be real contenders for not
only the Mays title but the NL crown as well.
AL Notes
COBB Division Expanded Standings
Syracuse SkyChiefs
Waukesha Keglers
Greenville Black Sox
Rivendell Knights
West Bend Rocks
Silver Sluggers
W-L
35-20
34-21
34-21
27-28
23-32
17-38
GB
--1
1
8
12
18
HOME
19-10
19-10
20-9
17-12
9-20
10-19
ROAD
16-10
15-11
14-12
10-16
14-12
7-19
Vs Div
9-5
11-3
10-4
6-8
4-10
2-12
Vs LH
9-9
11-4
10-3
10-8
7-5
4-11
1-RUN
9-6
9-8
16-8
7-8
5-11
5-13
OPS
.810
.791
.670
.729
.687
.752
ERA
3.85
3.79
3.20
4.68
3.86
5.93
A 19-10 May has moved the SkyChiefs into a slim one game lead in the Cobb. Larry Walker got on
at a .410 clip in May that allowed him to score 26 runs. Walker also smacked a team high 9 doubles
for the month. Brian Giles slumped to a .234 average in May, but he scored 30 runs and hit 8
homers. Trot Nixon also homered 8 times and led the club in May with 29 rbi. Defense hasn’t
improved in Syracuse has they have committed 60 errors now. Ray Durham hit .291 in May.
Brendan Donnelly was 4-0 in relief in May for the Chiefs. Vulture  Randy Johnson whiffed 74
batters in May and is 9-2 on the season with a 2.73 ERA. Eric Gagne picked up 7 May saves.
Woody Williams struggled in May as he went 0-2 with a 9.61 ERA.
The Keglers 17-12 May keeps them close in a tough three-way Cobb race. Jim Edmonds’ .333
average in May has him up to a team leading .327 for the season so far. Derek Jeter hit .306 in May
with 9 steals. Mike Piazza supplied the run production in May with 5 homers and 17 rbi. Piazza
leads the Keglers with 13 bombs. Randy Winn hit .291 and score 20 runs. Edgar Martinez
struggled to a .196 May batting average but did still contribute by getting on at a .345 rate. The
starters were led in May by Daryl Kile’s performance: 3-0 with a 1.96 ERA. Vicente Padilla was 4-1,
albeit with a robust 5.13 ERA. Ramon Ortiz struggled in May as he went 1-4 in his starts. Jason
Isringhausen has 16 saves on the young season.
Greenville went 18-11 in May to keep pace in the Cobb. Ichiro had a fantastic month for the Black
Sox as he hit .354 and swiped 22 bags without being caught once! Steve Finley a productive month
at the plate as he hit .300, smacked 5 homers and drove in 20. Orlando Merced hit .324 in May.
April star Omar Vizquel slumped a bit in May as he could only muster a .222 average for the
month. The Black Sox have a very impressive 16 wins already in one run games. The AL best
pitching staff recorded some more fine performances in May. Damian Moss was 3-0 with a 3.38
ERA. Ted Lilly 3-1, 3.37. Robb Nen saved 7 wins without allowing a run. Tom Gordon was
excellent in a setup role has he registered a 1.76 May ERA. Only Bobby Jones (5.46) and Kevin
Jarvis (6.55) struggled in May action.
Rivendell fell off the lead a bit in May as they went 12-17 for the month. Sammy Sosa had a huge
month at the plate for the Knights in May. He scored 22 runs, popped 10 dingers and drove in 29.
Sosa now has 53 rbi on the season. Brian Jordan had a solid May as he hit .292 with 6 homers and
20 driven in. Luis Castillo hit .284 and gathered up 14 stolen bases in May. Jason Giambi hit only
.250 in May but his 35 walks enabled him to post an impressive .480 OBP. Aaron Boone hit a
meager .162 in May and has dipped below the Mendoza Line (.199). On the hill the Knights
stuggled as their 5.18 May ERA can attest. Andy Ashby was the best at 3-1 with a 3.83 ERA.
Derrek Lowe is 8-1 on the season. No Knight reliever could get below 4.50 for an ERA in May play.
A 14-15 May has West Bend creeping up the standings. The Rocks will be well served by figuring
out how to win at home where they are 9-20 so far. Adrian Beltre was the hitting hero in May for
the Rocks as he hit .321 with 6 taters and 17 rbi. Adam Kennedy hit .311 and scored 20 runs.
Shawn Green drove in 19 in May and leads the club with 39 rbi for the season. Javy Lopez hit .340
and smacked 4 homers in limited action. Andruw Jones (.224) and Rafael Furcal (.220) struggled
in May. David Wells was perfect in May: 5-0, 2.23 ERA. Steve Trachsel off to a tough start (1-7,
5.96). Josh Fogg deserved better than a 1-3 record for his fine 3.51 May ERA.
A tough 8-21 May has the Sluggers hunkered down in last in the Cobb. There’s little problem on
offense in Silver as a few players had solid Mays. Eric Hinske hit .314 with 5 homers and 17 rbi.
Orlando Cabrera hit .279 with 13 doubles. Catcher Michael Barrett hit .278 with 6 dingers and 22
rbi. Carlos Beltran hit only .254 but he found other ways to contribute as he doubled 7 times,
homered 6 times, walked 16 times, stole 7 bags and scored a team high 26 runs in May. Pitching
was rough for the Sluggers in May as no pitcher could get below 4.66 for an ERA. Paul Wilson was
1-4 with a 4.79 ERA in his starts. Justin Miller picked up 3 relief wins. Brian Lawrence still perfect
on the year at 4-0 in 12 starts.
RUTH Division Expanded Standings
Toontown Rabbits
Plum Island Greenheads
Portland Grays
San Bernadino Stampede
Williamsburg Burgesses
Gotham City Gargoyles
W-L
37-18
30-25
27-28
24-31
23-32
22-33
GB
--7
10
13
14
15
HOME
17-9
17-9
15-11
11-15
10-16
11-15
ROAD
20-9
13-16
12-17
13-16
13-16
11-18
Vs Div
9-5
9-5
8-6
3-11
6-8
7-7
Vs LH
6-7
9-6
4-5
3-7
1-11
5-8
1-RUN
6-11
10-8
8-5
11-10
10-7
8-10
OPS
.803
.750
.752
.651
.724
.756
ERA
3.30
4.37
4.87
4.04
4.84
4.60
A BW best 22-7 has rocketed the Rabbits to the top of the Ruth. Barry Bonds is hitting .432
through two months of play. In May he hit .448, had a .607 OBP and slugged .908. Oh my!
Magglio led the Rabbits in the “merely human” category. He hit .304 and drove in a team high 30
runs. Kenny Lofton hit .323 in May and swiped 11 bases. Herb Perry chipped in 7 with 7 May
dingers of his own. Ryan Klesko crept up to a .219 average on the season after hitting .242 in May.
Ben Davis hit only .228 in May. Guillermo Mota was an impressive 4-1 in relief with a 2.00 ERA.
Frank Castillo led the starters as he was 5-0 in his starts with a sparkling 2.04 ERA. Jamey Wright
went 4-1 in his starts. Ismael Valdes is 6-3 with a 3.59 for the year.
Plum Island slumped to a 14-15 mark in May. Mark Kotsay was quite impressive for the ‘Heads in
May. He hit .373, scored 24 runs, homered 7 times, collected 21 rbi and swiped 8 bases. Mike
Sweeney hit .333 in May and led the club with 25 rbi. Plum Island is the speediest team in BW so
far. Check out these steal totals so far: Juan Pierre (31), Alfonso Soriano (24), Kotsay (14). Cliff
Floyd smacked 10 May doubles. Kirk Rueter went 2-1 with a 2.97 ERA in May. Mark Mulder went
3-1 in May. Carlos Zambrano struggled in the swingman role (2-3, 5.14). Sidney Ponson off to a
rocky start in 2003 (2-3, 6.79, 10 starts).
Portland posted a respectable 15-14 mark in May. Junior Spivey had a very nice May as he hit .413
and slugged .571. In part time action Gabe Kapler hit .400 and tripled 4 times. Spunky Marcus
Giles hit .347 in May and led the Grays in homers (6) and rbi (23). Reggie Taylor hit .272 and
collected 10 pilfered bags. Jason Kendall did Taylor one better with 11 swipes. Young Austin
Kearns hitting .327 on the season. Victor Zambrano led the staff with a 4-1 May mark despite a
bloated 6.37 ERA. Run support, baby! Aaron Harang went 1-1 with a 2.49 ERA in 3 spot starts.
Curt Schilling is 6-6 for the year despite his fine 3.38 ERA. Esteban Loaiza was pounded in his six
May starts to the tune of an 11.44 ERA. Ouch!
The Stampede went 12-17 in May. The Stampede are hitting only .222 as a team on the year. In
May A-Rod led the attack with 9 bombs and 19 rbi. Mark Ellis hit .284 and scored 18 runs. Corey
Patterson hit .293 in May. Aramis Ramirez wants to completely forget this month as he hit a lowly
.113 and committed 8 errors at the hot corner. Pitching was sound in May for the Stampede and it
was led by Randy Wolf (3-2, 3.57) and Kyle Lohse (4-2, 3.92). Jon Garland not pleased with his
May results: 1-3, 6.19. Jeff Suppan having a tough time winning (2-6) despite a reasonable 4.19
ERA. Keith Foulke did save 6 Stampede victories in May.
Williamsburg’s 14-15 May was a nice improvement over April. Bret Boone hit .328 in May with 10
two-baggers and 24 rbi. The big May hero was Jim Thome. Thome drilled 13 bombs, drove in 27
runners and got on at a .504 clip. Jacque Jones hit .317 in May and finds himself sitting on a
healthy .335 average for the season. Mark Bellhorn contributed 6 May homers but also made 8
May errors. Chris Singleton (.218) and Jeromy Burnitz (.196) struggled in May. Burgesses an
anemic 1-11 versus lefty starters so far. Odie Perez pitched the best in May going 2-2 with a 2.97
ERA. Elmer Dessens struggled in May (2-2, 6.19).
Gotham finds themselves in last after a 12-17 month of May. Eric Chavez did his best to make it
better as he hit .330 with 10 dingers and 28 rbi. Gary Sheffield hit .291 with 9 doubles and 8
homers. Chipper posted a solid .429 OBP in May. Jose Cruz hit only .171 in May but did manage to
make 9 of his hits of the extra base variety. Jeff Bagwell hitting .315 on the year with 13 homers.
On the mound Scott Erickson (3-1, 3.22) and Jason Johnson (3-1. 3.73) impressed. Joe Kennedy 35 for the season despite a fine 3.84 ERA. Shawn Estes (8.44) and Pedro Astacio (9.78) really
struggled in their May starts.
Innings Pitched
Curt Schilling
Randy Johnson
David Wells
Brian Lawrence
Javier Vazquez
104.0
102.1
87.0
85.0
85.0
AL STATS LEADERBOARD
Games Pitched
Opponet Batting Avg.
Mike DeJean
39 Randy Johnson
.193
Scot Shields
33 Randy Wolf
.195
Luis Vizcaino
33 David Wells
.201
Mark Guthrie
31 Kevin Millwood
.215
Johan Santana
31 Mark Buehrle
.221
Run Support
Victor Zambrano
Frank Castillo
Miguel Batista
Livan Hernadez
Derek Lowe
7.11
6.64
6.60
6.45
6.27
NL Notes
AARON Division Expanded Standings
Virginia Patriots
Lafontaine Park Diamonds
Abilene Longhorns
Annadale Anteaters
Buckeye Eclipse
Port Richey Sandcranes
W-L
34-21
29-26
29-26
28-27
27-28
16-39
GB
--5
5
6
7
18
HOME
16-13
16-13
17-12
14-15
16-13
8-21
ROAD
18-8
13-13
12-14
14-12
11-15
8-18
Vs Div
12-2
10-4
6-8
7-7
7-7
0-14
Vs LH
6-7
10-5
8-8
7-5
4-8
2-5
1-RUN
4-3
9-9
9-9
8-8
9-3
6-7
OPS
.784
.802
.726
.732
.794
.709
ERA
3.44
4.73
3.82
3.62
5.32
5.61
A 17-12 May has the Patriots comfortably up in the Aaron right now. Nomar hit .289 and produced
a .521 SLG in May play. Nomar also tied for team rbi lead in May with 23. Todd walker hit .324 for
the month. Jay Gibbons supplied 8 homers during the month. Jorge Posada also delivered 7
homers of his own, despite a .195 average for the month. Carlos Delgado sports solid numbers as
he has a .401 OBP and a .554 SLG for the year so far. Pete Walker was 3-0 in his 5 May starts. Tim
Hudson went 3-3 with a 3.77 ERA in May. Greg Maddux is 8-2 with a 3.33 ERA thru two months.
Ben Weber was dominant (1.16) in 23 innings of May relief work. Rick White posted a dismal 8.18
ERA in May. Bartolo Colon only 4-5 so far despite a solid 3.93 ERA.
Lafontaine dipped a bit with its 13-16 May. Ellis Burks was quite impressive in May as he hit .315,
smacked 9 homers and drove in 23. Mike Cameron had a very nice month as he went 3-4-5, that is:
.315 BA, .403 OBP and a .519 SLG. Mike Lowell picked up 12 two-baggers in May and now has 22
for the season. Jose Vidro only hit .233 in May. Miguel Tejada leads the Diamonds with a .348 BA
and is tied for the team rbi lead with 41. Pitching took some blows in May as it posted a collective
5.13 ERA. Kip Wells not responsible as he went 2-2 with a 1.84 ERA. Wade Miller went 2-1. Al
Leiter 2-3 despite a respectable 3.31 ERA in May. Jamie Walker lost 4 games in relief in May to go
along with his 7.71 ERA. Kaz Ishii a terrible May: 8.65 ERA, 0-2, 27 walks in 26 IP.
Abilene’s 16-13 May has them climbing upward in the Aaron. David Eckstein hit .342 in May with
13 steals. Manny hit .267 but led the ‘Horns in doubles (9), homers (6) and rbi (19). Pudge hit .283
with 8 two-baggers. Darin Erstad hit .227 in May and is at .215 for the season. Edgardo Alfonzo
lifted his average up to .253 with his May performance. Reliever Vlad Nunez was the most
impressive Longhorn pitcher in May. He went 3-1 with a 1.30 ERA in 27 innings of work. Roy
Halladay went 2-2 with a 3.05 ERA. Armando Benitez has 12 saves, but still carries a hefty ERA
(4.73). Mike Mussina is having a tough time getting going (4-7, 5.24).
Annadale went 14-15 in May, but is still close to the top. Torii Hunter was quite studly in May as he
hit .345 with 11 doubles, 8 homers, 25 rbi and 6 steals. Cesar Izturis hit a mighty .351 in part-time
May action. Garrett Anderson hit .297 in May with 13 doubles. Michael Tucker’s 5 taters were
second on the club for the month. Pokey Reese hit an abysmal .156 in May. Byung-hyun Kim won
3 games in relief in May without allowing a run. Barry Zito performed the best of the starters as he
went 2-1 with a 2.18 ERA. AJ Burnett also did well as went 2-2, 2.32. Glendon Rusch is 2-6 on the
year despite a fine 3.47 ERA. Dave Weathers (5.87) and Juan Cruz (5.93) are struggling in the pen.
Buckeye dropped off the pace a bit with their 13-16 May. Albert Pujols had a fine month as he hit
.387 with 22 runs scored, 7 homers and 22 rbi. Troy Glaus also had a big month as he posted a .552
OBP and .570 SLG in May. Paul Konerko (.324) and Tony Womack (.326) are off to fine starts with
the bat. Paul LoDuca hit picked up 10 doubles in May. Eric Young has 20 steals on the season.
Pitching still shaky for the Eclipse has the staff registered a 5.32 ERA in May. Eric Milton fared the
best as he went 2-1 with a 3.74 earnie. No other starter could get below 4.75 in May with Jason
Jennings (1-2, 6.16) getting the worst of it. Freddy Garcia is the winningest starter with a 7-5 mark.
Port Richey’s 10-19 May was a better month than April. ‘Cranes are winless in 14 games within the
division so far. Waterbug Cristian Guzman hit .372 in May with 9 doubles and 4 triples. Fred
McGriff hit .338 in May and led the club in homers (6) and rbi (18). Shea Hillenbrand hit .319.
Todd Hollandsworth helped McGriff with the May pop as he contributed 5 homers and 15 rbi.
Marlon Anderson with a .240 BA is the only hitter really struggling for the Sandcranes. Pitching is
the problem in PR as it is the worst staff ERA in the NL. In May the best performers got the least
results: Tom Ohka (1-1, 2.77) and Denny Stark (0-3, 3.03). Ugie Urbina saved 5 May wins. No
Port Richey pitcher has more than 3 victories.
MAYS Division Expanded Standings
Maryland Mounders
Aspen Rainmakers
West Oakland Wolverines
Taggart Titans
Boston Braves
Northwoods Moose
W-L
35-20
34-21
28-27
26-29
21-34
20-35
GB
--1
7
9
14
15
HOME
17-9
15-11
14-12
13-13
11-15
9-17
ROAD
18-11
19-10
14-15
13-16
10-19
11-18
Vs Div
9-5
7-7
11-3
6-8
5-9
4-10
Vs LH
9-6
9-6
8-10
8-7
7-11
7-11
1-RUN
6-7
11-7
5-8
4-8
10-7
4-8
OPS
.787
.730
.757
.746
.631
.731
ERA
3.57
3.72
4.18
4.79
4.77
4.58
Maryland rolled nicely along with a 17-12 May. The dynamic duo of Todd Helton and Tim Salmon
led the Mounders for the month. Helton for his part hit .330 with 13 doubles, 7 homers and 25 rbi.
Tim Salmon was practically the same as he hit .317 with 11 doubles, 7 homers and 26 rbi. Jeff Kent
leads the team with 21 doubles so far. Bernie Williams suffered thru a tough May hitting only .191.
Royce Clayton may not be hitting much (.216) but he has yet to make an error in 314 innings of play
at shortstop. Matt Clement went 4-1 in May with a 3.00 earnie. Darren Holmes won 3 games out
of the pen in May without allowing a run. Brad Radke deserved better for his 3.31 May ERA than a
1-4 record. Mark Redman is 7-3 on the year with a fine 2.92 ERA.
Aspen is looking to make it a two-team race in the Mays after their 18-11 month. John Olerud
supplied the May pop with 5 homers and 20 rbi. Catcher Jason LaRue had a nice May hitting .299
with 7 doubles and 16 rbi. Scott Rolen was a tad off in May (.245 BA) but he did hit 5 homers to
help out. Mark McLemore with 15 steals and Dave Roberts (17) led the Rainmaker speed attack in
May. Fernando Vina slumped in May with a .177 BA. Chris Reitsma went 4-1 May with a 2.43
earnie. Pedro was 3-1 with a 1.51 ERA in May. Brian Meadows was 3-1 in May. Mike Williams has
13 saves after two months.
The Wolverines finished with a 13-16 May. Bob Abreu hit .33 in May with 20 rbi, 10 steals and 15
runs scored. Jose Hernandez hit .308 with 5 homers and 34 K’s. Richie Sexson had a nice May
hitting .296 with 19 runs and 22 rbi. Marquis Grissom is performing well in a part time role as he
has 8 homers and 22 rbi in 101 AB’s. Tony Batista is slumping to start the season at .220. Roy
Oswalt was 3-3 with a 2.79 ERA. Masato Yoshii was 3-1 in his May starts. Kerry Wood is 5-3 on
the season and should certainly improve on his 4.74 ERA as the season rolls along. Brandon Puffer
had a month to forget (13.30 ERA, 12 walks in 9 innings).
Taggart posted a solid 16-13 May to move up a slot in the standings. Vlad Guerrero was the man
for the Titans in May: .406 OBP, .664 SLG, 26 runs and 26 rbi. Jeremy Giambi assembled a
robust .514 OBP in May play. Big Adam Dunn hit .276 in May and scored 20 runs. Wil Cordero hit
.462 with 8 rbi in mainly PH at bats. Jimmy Rollins is only hitting .210 so far. Jeff Weaver was 3-0
with 3.19 ERA. Danny Wright happy with his 2-0 mark in May but with a 1.89 ERA could have had
a better record. Five Titan relievers combined to save 12 May wins. Chris Carpenter not a good
month (1-3, 6.89). Jay Powell was useless in relief (0-3, 14.85 ERA).
The Braves fell backwards with an 11-18 May. Raul Mondesi powered the offense as best he could
with 11 doubles, 6 homers, 14 rbi and 15 runs scored. Barry Larkin hit .288 and led the club with 16
May rbi. Roger Cedeno needs to do better than a May that saw him hit .223 and get caught stealing
6 times. Terrence Long had a tough May (.200 BA). CC Sabathia pitched well (3.82 ERA), but
unfortunately went 1-5 in May with it. Jose Mesa was very impressive closing games in May (2-0, 5
saves, 0.98 ERA). Youngster Oliver Perez went 2-1 with a 1.71 ERA in his 3 starts. Tom Glavine
leads the staff with a 3.05 ERA through two months.
The Moose had a better May as they went 13-16. Jared Sandberg hit .356 with a .689 SLG in prttime duty. Lance Berkman hit .304 with 9 homers, 19 runs and 28 rbi. Apparently ageless Sandy
Alomar Jr. hit .346 in May. Pat Burrell had a better month in May as he hit .278 with 7 doubles
and 4 dingers. Juan Uribe (.208) and Todd Zeile (.198) had tough Mays. Brad Penny went 3-1 in
May with a 2.70 ERA. Matt Morris went 4-2 in his May starts. Trevor Hoffman picked up 6 May
saves. Ben Sheets went 2-4 despite a solid 3.03 ERA. Ryan Dempster’s season so far: 2-8, 7.29
ERA.
Batting Average
Todd Walker
Miguel Tejada
Fred McGriff
Ellis Burks
Tim Salmon
.359
.348
.348
.347
.347
NL STATS LEADERBOARD
Doubles
Steals
Garrett Anderson
24
Dave Roberts
Mike Lowell
22
Mark McLemore
Todd Helton
21
Eric Young
Nomar Garciaparra
20
David Eckstein
Barry Larkin
19
Andy Fox
28
25
20
17
15
Total Bases
Torii Hunter
Lance Berkman
Tim Salmon
Vlad Guerrero
Albert Pujols
142
128
126
126
122
Award Watch
Some old lefties still chugging along and thus garner some recognition. The Moose may not be
playing well but it isn’t because of Lance Berkman.
Award
AL MVP
NL MVP
Player
Brian Giles, SYR
Lance Berkman, NOR
AL WJ
NL CM
David Wells, WBR
Al Leiter, LPD
W
8
7
AVG OBP SLG
.280 .425 .618
.292 .376 .612
L
SV ERA
3
0
2.59
3
0
2.75
HR
17
16
IP
87
73
RBI
34
51
H
63
59
R
57
39
BB
19
26
SB
4
2
K
60
73
Pitchers Productivity
Annadale stays on top with a pitching staff that has punched out 4 homers.
over as the new trailer.
Leaders…
Annadale
Aspen
Virginia
West Bend
West Oakland
Trailers…
Buckeye
RUNS
9
10
10
6
6
RUNS
8
HR
4
0
1
0
0
HR
0
RBI
17
9
8
3
6
RBI
6
SH
20
19
17
21
17
SH
10
POINTS
62
57
51
51
46
POINTS
34
Williamsburg takes
PREVIOUS
1
T3
2
T5
T5
PREVIOUS
T16
Portland
Lafontaine Park
Port Richey
Williamsburg
8
8
8
8
0
1
0
1
4
6
2
2
10
9
10
10
33
31
30
29
T16
T20
22
23
BRASSWORLD Honor Roll
Here are the best performances from May…
Hits
5/ 7 5 J Crede of NOR vs. ABI in 5 at-bats
5/15 5 B Abreu of WOW vs. WIL in 5 at-bats (10 inning game)
5/20 5 K Lofton of TOO vs. SBS in 5 at-bats
5/29 5 J Spivey of GRA vs. RIV in 5 at-bats (10 inning game)
5/31 5 E Owens of RIV vs. GRA in 5 at-bats
Walks
5/31 6 M Grace of GRA vs. RIV
Strikeouts
5/22 5 J Cruz Jr. of GCG vs. GRA in 6 at-bats
Home Runs
5/15 3 E Burks of LPD vs. SKY in 5 at-bats
5/25 3 T Hunter of ANN vs. NOR in 5 at-bats
RBIs
5/18 7 S Sosa of RIV vs. PIG in 5 at-bats
5/25 7 T Hunter of ANN vs. NOR in 5 at-bats
5/31 7 M Lawton of GRA vs. RIV in 6 at-bats
Least Hits Allowed - 9+ IP
5/ 2 1 I Valdes of TOO vs. BBB in 9 innings
Strikeouts
5/13 15 R Johnson of SKY vs. LPD in 9 innings
The games in red I have copies of. Once again, I would really like to have copies of all boxscores
above to preserve for league history.
New E-mail addresses
Corey now has a new e-mail address. It is: weissc@tcq.net. Please make this important change to
your address book ASAP. Thanks.
Steven of the Boston Braves also has a new email address and can be reached at…
sjlockney@aol.com. Please make this change also to your address book.
Starter-only Usage Reminder
Still way too many starter-only pitchers are appearing in relief this season. Because I have yet to
witness this in a game I have played could somebody please confirm that it is indeed HAL
bringing in starter-only pitchers in relief and not home managers? I’m getting a tad paranoid here
 A home manager may not bring such a pitcher in unless the bullpen has been decimated by
injury. Also, it seems to help HAL out a lot by setting all starters for relief usage as NEVER.
Trades
7. Plum Island trades Jayson Durocher and Plum Island's 2004 3rd round draft choice to
Toontown for Guillermo Mota.
8. Taggart trades John Burkett and Bronson Sardinha to Buckeye for Kenny Rogers.
Upcoming Deadlines
June 30th
June 30th
June 30th
July 7th
Results due to opponents
Results due to statisticians (Paolo and Corey)
Trade deadline for July games
Pitching rotations due to Mark and HAL for road opponents due out
Fines
Portland was assessed a nuisance fine for misplaying opponents HAL.
Articles
Jim B., Henry, Tom and Paolo have all assembled articles this month.
Next Issue of News & Report
BW heads toward its first All-Star game! Ballots go out.
Williamsburg Gazette
Late May 2003
Silver @ Williamsburg
#1 Burgesses 3-6-0, Sluggers 0-4-0
A string of 2 outs hits in 3rd inning climaxed by a 2 run bomb by Thome (11) propels Burgesses to
victory. Odalis Perez (3-4, 3.31) sparkles with 4 hit shutout. He struck out side in 9th as if for
emphasis. No bases on balls. Sele (2-3, 4.09) pitches well; Burgesses lose 3 BP HR to long left field.
#2 Sluggers 11-13-1, Burgesses 7-12-1
Sluggers and Burgesses trade punches till Silver explodes for 5 in 8th. The home team loads bases in
8th and 9th but can squeeze out one more run.
WP-Alvarez 1-0, 0.00 Save-Hernandez (5) 6.75 LP-Santana 0-1, 5.40
HR-Alomar (2) Beltran (2) Barrett (3) Burnitz (7)
#3 Burgesses 6-12-2, Sluggers 4-7-1
Jim Thome cracked 2 HRs (13), the second a walk-off 2 run jack in the bottom of the 9th off
Ascensio (L,1-1, 6.20). There were 8 DPs in the game, maybe the most I’ve seen, 5 turned by
Wburg. Burgesses were down 4-1 but slowly came back and Johan Santana hurled 4 no-hit innings
with 7 Ks in relief of the much-abused Jimmy Haynes (ERA now 7.94). Barrett hit HR (4). WPCornejo (1-0, 4.38) an R7L who pitched 9th against SS switch-hitters Alomar and Beltran.
Between the Seams
Post mortem on 03 Burgess Season
The home team paper predicted that the Burgess starters had the right stuff to be No. 1 in its
division; while park effects should be considered, the Burgess hurlers are currently dead last in
starters’ ERA in Ruth with 5.37 mark compared to Toontown’s 3.46. The Rabbits were predicted to
be No. 2 so that should restore a little credibility. Further scrutiny shows that we do have bragging
rights to best bullpen with ERA of 2.67. Toontown is nipping at our heels with relief ERA of 2.84.
San Bernadino and Plum Island have gotten essentially equal performances from starters and
relivers. If you can knock out Portland’s starters, their current relief ERA of 5.81 suggests it will
only get easier for you.
The other obvious problem is this team can not hit LHP; our OPS is 509. We do very well vs RHP;
our OPS of 763 in 2nd in Ruth only to Toontown and Bonds’ 787. Our lefty-tilted staff will look
forward to Portland because they likewise have managed a pitiful 525 OPS to this point.
Plum Island visits Williamsburg
Game #1 Burgesses 3-7-0, Greenheads 2-9-2
Nip and tuck game goes awry for visitors when in 8th lefty Myers yields a double off his own card to
Thome; a righty is brought to face Bret Boone but in a reprise of last month’s newsletter, Boone
foils the strategy and singles in Thome to give Williamsburg a 3-2 win. WP-Sosa 1-2, 6.17
LP-Myers 0-2, 6.23 Save-DeJean (3) 1.99
Game #2 Greenheads 12-15-0, Burgesses 7-10-0
Plum Island buries home team under a boatload of early runs leading at one point 12-4 before
Burgesses rough up Mulder some. Mark Kotsay was big bopper with 2 jacks (5) and 5 rbi. Barajas
hit his first HR and Thome clobbered no. 16 before being lifted due to the slaughter.
WP-Mulder 5-1, 4.31 LP-Sparks 2-5, 7.39
Game #3 Greenheads 8-11-1, Burgesses 3-9-1
Plum Island jumped on Odalis Perez for 3 in 1st, and one in 2nd and 3rd as all the rolls seemed to
find hits mostly on PIG’s cards but a few on Odalis’ as well. If not hits, then X chances
“successfully” converted to hits/errors by the bumbling Burgesses. WP-Rueter 4-2, 2.98 LP-Perez
3-5, 4.01
HR-Sweeney (4) Inge (1)
Maryland travels I-95 to Williamsburg
Game #1 Maryland 12-13-0, Williamsburg 7-5-3
Interesting line score courtesy of Matt Clement who walked 10 in 5+ innings; 3 Burgess runs scored
on bases loaded BB. Thome jerked one (17) to pull us to within 8-7, but Cornejo lost gas early and
the Mounders put us away. WP-Clement 4-2, 5.67 HR-Helton (3) Woodward (2)
LP-Dessens 2-4, 6.39
Game #2 Williamsburg 2-6-0, Maryland 1-7-4
Bill has no one but himself to blame for this one; after bragging about how great MMM fielding is
in his last newsletter , they proceed to botch 4 plays. Two errors in one inning allow 2 unearned
runs to score and Jimmy Haynes to earn his first victory; he’s 1-4, 6.62. LP-Redman 4-2, 2.28.
Save-Santana (2) 4.60
Game#3 Maryland 6-12-0, Williamsburg 5-11-0
Corey Koskie’s 3 run HR (3) staked MMM to a 5-1 lead; a flurry of 2 out hits by WIL in 6th knocked
out Radke and tied it at 5-5. A battle of bullpens ensued and WIL’s blinked first as Mounders
scored off DeJean (L,1-1, 2.06) in 8th. Holmes won it (2-1, 0.00) and Smoltz with save (5).
Game #4 Mounders 14-16-0 Williamsburg 6-11-3 Sparks was loser.
Williamsburg Gazette
Early June 2003
Moneyball I thought I’d check teams bank accounts and compare them with number of victories
thru May. As a disclaimer, this analysis does not purport to control for all the numbers but I hope it
will be of interest. There are 7 teams playing .600 or better. Virginia shrewdly invested $42 mil to
get 34 wins and Greenville paid just a little more for its 34. All the other contenders paid $4-5 mil
more for just about same number of wins. Toontown does have best record and 3 more wins, but
they are at a $7 mil premium. Perhaps the most embarrassing are Rivendell and Abilene, both of
which emptied their checkbooks to play .500 ball. Candidates for Peter Angelos Award. Maybe
they just haven’t had time to program HAL or SuperHAL.
I estimated that on average, BW teams spent $39 mil on salaries. If the average team has won 27.5
games, this translates to $1.4 mil per win.
Besides the 2 underachievers already mentioned, what about Port Richey? It should have $25 mil
in the bank but has only $18 mil. An extra $7 mil down a hole for the worst record. Cam Bonifay
Award candidate. Other teams of interest include LaFontaine Park. It spent $35 mil for 29 wins
and comes out better than average at $1.2 mil per win. The most frugal franchise, Silver, has not
necessarily come out ahead as it has still paid $1.5 m/w. Is that thrifty or just plain cheap? Bud
Selig Award candidate. Compare to Portland below.
Portland has played almost .500 ball and has had a payroll of $25 mil; that’s less than a million per
win and he gets to roll for an interesting team all year. In the same division, yet another cutting
edge GM has paid just about $1 mil per win—that’s San Bernadino. Still again in the Ruth,
Toontown has paid $1.3 mil per win. Plum Island is about average at $1.5 m/win. Bringing up the
rear? Thought I’d be too embarrassed to mention it? Yes, Williamsburg and Gotham City are
among the unwashed overpaying at $1.6 and $1.7 m/win. I have not gone through all the divisions
but I fear I could be in the most competitive. Maybe it’s time to propose a rule that divisions get
realigned every year according to how bad a GM you are. 
So, as of now, two candidates for the unofficial Billy Beane Award: Portland and Virginia.
Beware making trades with these guys; they’re smart and they could just be hustling you.
Paolo’s ode to Matt Olkin… 
Mat at Bat
Is Hyzdu playing bridge?
Taggart management got the maximum from Adam Hyzdu. Two months in the season he is leading
Brassworld with 3 grand slams. On the other end, Derrek Lee, Lafontaine Park, is 2 for 16 with 6 Ks with
bases loaded. As for teams Gotham City leads the way with 5.
Guessing who…..
is the best hitter against southpaws? Barry Bonds, Toontown, is hitting .447 with 15 walks, 4 doubles and 10
homeruns in 47 AB’s. Adam Dunn,Taggart, is still learning how to deal with them: the youngster is hitting
.185 with 24 strikeouts in 54 at bats.
Going for butterflies
Derrek Lee, is leading the way with 77 strikeouts. He is followed by another Diamond, Mike Cameron, with
69.
Doubled
Here is a measure of how terrific Bonds was til now. He has 27.5 run created per 27 outs; the second best
performance belong to Port Richey ‘s McGriff with 12.8
Wasted opportunities
Cliff Floyd, Plum Island, had 49 RBI’s but left on base 62 runners, the most in the league.
Most feared hitter
Among the regulars Fred McGriff is the most feared hitters: he got 9 IBB in 173 plate appearances, that is
the 5.2% of PA’s. SanBernardino’s Alex Rodriguez is second with 3.4%.
Mr. Perfect
Edgar Renteria, Portland, is perfect in bunting. He is 6 for 6 til now with two squeeze play perfectly
delivered.
Mr. Clutch
Magglio Ordonez, Toontown, hit 6 homeruns in clutch situations. He is hitting .500 with 17 hits and 26
RBI’s in 34 at bats.
Weird lead-off men
Batting first for Waukesha, Derek Jeter is leading all leadoff hitters in the league with 79 hits. The problem is
he is leading the group in strikeouts, too, with 49.
Leading off for Syracuse is Brian Giles. In that slot the big guy has .478 OBP. In 146 at bat he batted 51 hits,
14 doubles, 14 homeruns, with 36 walks and 25 strikeouts.
Heavy pinch duty
After the first 55 games Taggart’s Wil Cordero has 37 AB’s as pinch hitter. He is responding well hitting
.351 with 13 hits and a homerun.
Which glove are they using?
Centerfielder Andruw Jones, West Bend, had 162 putouts in 55 games, that is near 3 catches per game.
Trailing is Taggart’s CF Vlad Guerrero with 147.
From Henry…
It was computer Strat tutorial day. Rene drove down from Portland, Maine to meet me just
East of Manchester, New Hampshire for our jaunt Northward into Canada. During the 4 1/2 hour
drive, we remembered many Strat-o moments from our childhood. The infamous disappearing act
of 1978 Cincinnati Reds. The controversial 1st Super Bowl played under the lights in the Boys Club
library when my older brother protested the outcome after I had kicked a 52-yard field goal to win.
His complaint was that I had taken outside advise on the last play. There were the all night leagues
or the old draft out of brown bag leagues.
We laughed the entire way to Montreal. Once we navigated entrance into the city, our
directions had us looking for the Jacques Cartier Tunnel yet we found the Jacques Cartier
Bridge, it was a matter of deciphering our map and circling the neighborhood a few times but
eventually we found Auberge De Fontaine, a quaint little B&B in the heart of the city. We
unpacked, called our Super Hal tutor (Daniel) and prepared for a night out in Montreal, "the
coolest city in North America" (Daniel quoted).
We decided to get to know each other over some gourmet pizza and a few drinks. Daniel
explained to us the history of baseball in Montreal and gave us some interesting insights into the
Expos’ franchise that are not covered in the American Press. We swapped Strat-o stories and talked
about life in general. The Canadian perspective is much closer to our own (American) than we had
previously thought. As it was very late, we decided to call it a night and begin the tutorial the next
morning.
Rene and I woke to Strat fever. "It's time for the Southern Maine League's first international
series," he (Rene) proclaimed. After breakfast and a shower, we set up shop on the little desk in
our room and my Greenheads pounded Rene's Reds in 4 straight games. Carlos Beltran was the
hero leading off a remarkable 3 consecutive games with Homers. Then, it was off to Daniel's pad
for some espresso and lessons from the Professor.
Daniel greeted us with bright eyes and the java I so sorely lacked. He patiently took us
through every aspect of HAL and the resulting effects the settings would have on our games. I
scribbled notes as quickly as I could. Later to find that deciphering them wasn't as easy as I thought
it would be. We broke for lunch. More top quality Canadian Pizza and a bizarre, local delicacy of
French fries, barbecue sauce and cheese curds referred to as "poutine". The lessons continued
throughout the afternoon. Sadly we had to leave that night because of some school obligations of
Rene's but the plan is to return this summer and visit the "Big O", Olympic Stadium.
So any of you that lose a close home game to either Rene or I can thank your Draft
Coordinator Daniel Valois for his teaching excellence.
From Tom Fish…
Sunday paper
San Bernardino – Do you check the stats of your players in the Sunday
newspaper? I sometimes do, and I usually start at the bottom and work my way up.
Most often I’ll just glance quickly through the stats but every so often, especially
when the major league season is at a point like ¼, 1/3 or ½ complete, as it’s easy to
quickly compute what the approximate season totals would be. The ML season is
approximately ¼ complete now so I thought I’d take a closer look at how my players
are doing, to give me an idea as to how much better or worse they may be next year.
I know it’s very early, and I’ve actually geared my team to hopefully begin competing
for my division title the year after next, but it’s fun anyway. The below stats are as of
Sunday, May 18th.
At firstbase I’ve got Doug Mientkiewicz. He’s beginning to heat up with Minnesota
(though he sprained his ankle on Sunday) and is currently at .274:avg/3:hr/0:sb, and
projects to 46 doubles. However, down on the farm there’s Justin Morneau who hit
.329/6/0 in AA before being promoted to AAA where he’s hitting .311/6/0. Plus,
there’s a chance he’ll get the call now that Doug is injured, though I personally hope
they leave him in AAA for now. The future looks good at 1B.
Secondbase has Mark Ellis (.262/3/0 … projects to 54 doubles). He’s been in a
slight slump lately but if he keeps playing solid defense he’ll still be valuable. Desi
Relaford (.308/3/6 … has .387 obp) backs him up, plus the future may bring Rickie
Weeks who’s currently at .500/16/27 in just 158 AB’s in college, which are incredible
numbers! The only problem is that he may be switched to the OF once drafted this
Spring. But then that may prove to be helpful for me as RF is a trouble spot as you’ll
read below.
Another trouble spot may be thirdbase. I still believe that Aramis Ramirez
(.238/2/0) will be an exceptional offensive force, but he’s off to a poor start this year.
He’s still just 24 yrs old, though. On the bright side, Chad Tracy is hitting .357/3/0
with a .414 obp in the minors.
Shortstop needs little mentioning, other than that Alex Rodriguez (.308/11/6)
plays there. I’m in great shape there for years.
The outfield is looking pretty good, though rightfield may be a trouble spot. Brad
Wilkerson (.296/5/3 … projects to 49 doubles) is in left and has also appeared in CF,
RF and 1B. Corey Patterson (.319/8/8 … on pace for 12 triples) is a pleasant
surprise in center, though this is what was expected from him from the Cubs. If this is
the real Corey Patterson then I’ll be in very good shape there. Rightfield is a trouble
spot unless Gary Matthews, Jr (.204/2/0) gets straightened out. I’ve also got Jose
Guillen (.324/7/0 … .357 obp) out there, but I don’t expect him to keep those stats
up for the whole year. And even if he does he’ll be a free agent so I may not be able
to retain him. Gene Kingsale (.270/0/0 … .341 obp) is another outfielder but he’s not
necessarily a RF’er and despite him being one of the better hitters for average with
the Tigers they have reduced his playing time. Down on the farm I’ve got Coco Crisp
(.341/0/14 … .451 obp) but he’s not really a RF’er either, and I’m not sure if the
Indians are going to give him a shot. At least not this year, though he may become a
valuable player in another year or two.
Ramon Hernandez (.306/4/0) has turned into a very good catcher, and though
he’s hitting above his head a bit right now, I don’t believe he’ll end up much lower
than around .270 with double figure HR’s. Plus he’s thrown out 40% of the runners
trying to steal on him. He’s proving to be a very solid catcher, both offensively and
defensively. And just in case, Jeff Mathis, a top prospect with Anaheim is hitting
.299/4/3 in the minors.
The mound may need some work, but it’s not in terrible shape. In fact with a little
luck or a good draft pick or two (or maybe a trade) it could become quite good and be
the strength of my team as I want it to be. Randy Wolf (3.24:era/1.11:whip/.208:baa)
leads the staff and looks to be the ace I hoped for in him. Following him is Kyle
Lohse (3.22/1.09/.222) who is producing far better than I had expected. I’ve seen
him a number of times on TV and I don’t think it’s a fluke. This guy has the ability to
be that good, consistently, and maybe even better! After that my starters are in
trouble. Jeff Suppan (3.32/1.33/.269) is doing well but I don’t expect him to
continue that pace all season. But with his good start he may end up with an ERA in
the high 3’s or low 4’s, with a lot of IP’s which could be very useful as the #3 or #4
starter. The disappointment is Jon Garland (6.10/1.50/.278 … projects to 35 hra).
He’s still young with some very good stuff so there’s hope. And I’m certainly hoping.
But as I said I drafted this team to hopefully become a contender in our third season
so I and Jon have time. Depending on whether or not Jeremy Affeldt
(4.33/1.33/.281) can control his finger blister problems he could or could not become
a very good starter. I’ve seen him a few times and when the blister is not affecting
him he is quite good. Others such as Al Leiter put together some very good years
once he got his blister problems under control. Hopefully Affeldt will be able to control
his problem sooner than later. Ryan Drese (7.65/2.35/.341) looks to be gone but
there’s hope for the future in the minors. Jimmy Gobble (2.92, 5-3 record) is having
a good year in the minors and though Jose Torres (4.68, 3-2) is struggling a bit he’s
had some very good appearances and is still projected as a top prospect for the
Angels.
The bullpen is in good hands with Keith Foulke (2.49/0.83/.182 … on pace for 42
SV’s), but there’s not much after that. Ray King (3.18/1.65/.246), Mike Crudale
(0.00/1.69/.238 in just 5 ML games) and Kelly Wunsch (0.00/0.63/.053) are all
serviceable and form a decent setup core as a unit, but none have enough strengths
(despite some very good ERA’s so far) to be considered a stud reliever and, since my
team is to be built around a solid pitching staff I’ll have to upgrade them. They’ll be
great as situational, one or two batter type pitchers, but I’ll have to get one or two
solid setup men for Foulke.
All in all my offense is looking pretty good with just a couple of positions I’ll need to
improve upon in the next year or two. My starting staff has a pretty good base to
build upon. Just a good draft pick or two and/or the emergence of a minor leaguer
and it should become a real strength for my team. The bullpen is the weak link. There
is some depth with decent stats but it’s too situational. This is where most of my
attention will go to, though it’s a position I do not like to use high draft picks for. This
may take some time, work and luck.
Of course all this may look very different in a few months. But it’s fun to try and look
into what the future may hold.